Rebooting the leaden-footed Alexis Sanchez may be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's toughest Manchester United task of all
There was a moment, a little over 10 minutes before his wearily predictable substitution, that summed up Alexis Sanchez’s latest misstep in a Manchester United shirt. Paul Pogba rolled a pass into the Chile striker’s feet but a poor first touch encouraged Ricardo Pereira, the Leicester City right back, to come and try to win the ball. Sanchez just about held on to it but then, inexplicably, played a short pass straight to a blue jersey. Mike Phelan, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s assistant, who was stood on the touchline, put his hand to his head, bemused, like so many of us, by what he had just seen.
Most of what Solskjaer is touching is turning to gold at United and this hard fought win at the King Power Stadium was another small step towards landing the manager’s job on a permanent basis but getting a tune out of Sanchez is clearly going to take a while longer. On this evidence, if he can make a world beater of the Premier League’s highest paid player again, he really might be the man to take United forward in the longer-term.
There was a pat on Sanchez’s back from Solskjaer as he trudged off in the 67th minute but, to judge by the way the player threw his gloves down before taking to his seat on the bench, he is as frustrated as anyone. There was hope a well taken goal in the impressive 3-1 FA Cup win at Arsenal nine days ago might lift Sanchez, who was making his first league start under Solskjaer here with Anthony Martial only deemed fit enough for the substitutes’ bench. But this was as painfully ineffective a performance as any Sanchez has produced in his miserable 12 months at Old Trafford, and there have been plenty.
United are moving on under Solskjaer but Sanchez is still dealing in the turgid, indecisive, leaden-footed sort of football that characterised Jose Mourinho’s final months in charge and the worry is that, the longer his troubles persist, the more introverted on the pitch the Chilean is becoming.
He built a career on risk taking and, while he could be an exasperating presence even in his pomp, there was always the feeling that he could unpick the opposition with a sudden burst of imagination and ingenuity. But now? The moment of pure quality Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford conjured to deliver the goal that ultimately won this game feels beyond this version of Sanchez.
Shortly before half-time, Pogba fed Sanchez, who had one man to beat near the edge of the Leicester penalty area. The player of a few seasons ago would not have thought twice about driving towards Leicester’s goal but it was indicative of someone who no longer backs himself in those situations that Sanchez cut inside before attempting an ill-advised pass through a posse of Leicester bodies that was easily cut out. It brought to mind a moment in the 10th minute of the Arsenal game when Sanchez, having gained a yard on Ainsley Maitland-Niles, also opted to cut back inside.
Sanchez is not even gambling any more. Ashley Young’s crossing was erratic against Leicester but the United right back zipped one fine ball across the six yard area in the second half that was begging for someone to get on the end of. Yet Sanchez did not get close to sniffing out the opportunity, despite being well placed to make a dart for the back post.
Mourinho had no qualms about throwing United’s players under the bus - and we all know how that worked out - so there was sound logic to Solskjaer offering words of encouragement about Sanchez’s display, even if the reality felt different. “He worked really well defensively. He is coming and improving all the time,” the Norwegian said. “He played well. I don’t think there’s any problem with his [Sanchez’s] confidence.”
It is still early days for Sanchez under Solskjaer, and he has yet to enjoy a sustained run and is getting back up to speed after a substantial lay-off with a hamstring injury, but it is hard to see how he will be accommodated regularly if this is what he produces. He remains United’s odd man out.
